


Sign of the Times

by LLReid



Category: Reigning Passions (Visual Novel)
Genre: Altadellys, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Lysende, Royalty, wlw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:01:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23224444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LLReid/pseuds/LLReid
Summary: Fic inspired by ‘Sign of the Times’ by Harry Styles.Date night after a stressful day during the reign of Queen Tansy.~~~~~“I am very skilled at what I do.”“I know you are, I just don’t want you to end up like Vo. Tansy is obviously unstable and dangerous, I— I don’t want you in danger for my sake.” Lyrei’s eyes drifted towards the ocean and a shaky sigh escaped from the back of her throat. “I understand that life is both pain and pleasure. But if your safety is the price we must pay for the hours we will come to enjoy once Tansy has been dethroned, is it too much?”
Relationships: Xenia of the Autumn/Lyrei Ararieth, Xenia/Main Character (Reigning Passions)
Kudos: 49





	Sign of the Times

For her entire adult life, Xenia had prided herself on her ability to rise above the meaningless drama at court. She allowed no one to rule her mind or her body. She took special care that her thoughts remained twelve steps ahead of everyone else’s. She gave many her ear, but only one her heart. She showed respect for those who held power, but never followed them blindly. She always judged all with logic and reason, but commented rarely. She refused to consider anyone her superior, regardless of their rank or status at court. She treated all fairly, knowing that if she didn’t they would seek revenge in the most dark and twisted ways. But nothing could’ve prepared her for acting as a double agent at the side of the false Queen Tansy, absolutely nothing.

Xenia’s entire profession and position at court had been built on the knowledge that it was impossible to argue with every fool in the world whenever they opened their mouths, that it really was far easier to simply allow them have their way, then trick them when they were not paying attention. She knew this. For spans it had been her creed. Yet she had never wanted to slap anyone across the face nearly as much as Tansy. The impudent child was utterly infuriating — the complete opposite of her sweet Lyrei — and she hated her. She actually hated her.

Sat on the edge of the docks in the dead of night with Lyrei at her side, Xenia could finally relax. They’d snuck out of the palace through the secret passageways that the pretender to the throne was oblivious to, with a bottle of sweet white wine and some apple pastries from the Autumn Quarter that Lyrei had surprised her with to share between them. Sitting there beneath the stars with their bare feet in the cool waters, far from the palace and Tansy and whoever was masterminding the whole situation, it was easy to breathe, to feel free of life’s burdens.

“I cannot understand how you managed to handle her growing up,” Xenia said. “A few more days of ‘being her right hand’ and I may resort to poisoning her.”

Lyrei snorted. “Please don’t.”

“Seriously... how did you do it?”

“Rosie, Hazel, and I were always her biggest targets... I guess because all three of us were different. It bonded us together and we helped each other.” Lyrei smiled, sadly. “When she’d use Hazel’s dead-name or misgender her, Rosie and I would make sure to use her real name and pronouns more in conversation. When she’d make fun of Rosie’s skin colour or her teeth, Hazel and I would make sure to compliment her beauty. And when she’d call me ‘pointy’ and do horrible things to blame on me, Hazel and Rosie would let me cry it out on their shoulders.”

“You’re very close with them, aren’t you?”

The redhead nodded, her eyes sparkling. “None of us ever had toys or supportive families, we only had each other... and that was enough. We literally raised ourselves buck wild in the woods without a care in the world... it was always enough.”

“That sounds blissful.”

“Oh, it was. We never noticed our empty bellies or torn clothing, so long as we were together. We simply found peace in where and what we were.”

Xenia took a sip of the wine they were sharing straight from the bottle, her eyes glued to the calmly rippling water. The sea was emotion incarnate. It loved, hated, and wept. It defied all attempts to capture it with words and rejected all shackles. No matter what she could say about it, there was always that which she couldn’t put into words. In that way, it reminded her of Lyrei... and how she had come to adore her. 

The silence that fell over them was somehow as comfortable as when they were lost in conversation, leaving Xenia to appreciate how thoroughly she was enjoying getting to know her. The girl was unlike any other she had ever known; kind, smart, witty, trusting, and most beautiful. She was a delightful enigma that made the spy’s heart rate quicken and her blood thrum in her veins. They had known each other less than a span, but somehow Lyrei clicked with Xenia... despite the fact she did not yet know everything there was to know about her. Those whom we most adore are often the most alien to us — and it was thrilling.

“You know that if you want to stop being the double agent, you can, right?,” Lyrei said, breaking the silence. “Tansy is a migraine in human form... and she’s obviously more dangerous that I thought she was. I... I don’t think I could bear it if you got hurt trying to put me on the throne. I know what we do is right... but right doesn't always mean easy.”

“Are you worried about me, my queen?,” Xenia purred, a playful smirk spreading across her face to mask how genuinely touched she was at the girl’s concern.

“Should I not be?”

“No, you should not.” Carefully, she brushed a long strand of flame coloured hair behind the pointed ears that she loved so much, allowing her fingertips to skim across the heir’s sweetly flushed cheek. “You should keep in mind that I have been the Mistress of Spies since you were a child playing in the woods in the Wilds. I am very skilled at what I do.”

“I know you are, I just don’t want you to end up like Vo. Tansy is obviously unstable and dangerous, I— I don’t want you in danger for my sake.” Lyrei’s eyes drifted towards the ocean and a shaky sigh escaped from the back of her throat. “I understand that life is both pain and pleasure. But if your safety is the price we must pay for the hours we will come to enjoy once Tansy has been dethroned, is it too much?”

“One would argue that you are in far more danger than I, sweet girl. You are the true heir. The throne Tansy sits on is yours by birthright... and we know that she dislikes you. Me playing the role of her advisor is the only way that we can ensure your safety and prevent another attempt at regicide.” She sighed. “The purpose of life is not to do what we want but what needs to be done, remember that when you are queen.”

“If you say you are safe then I trust you, but I need you to promise me you won’t put yourself in harms way... please. If it gets too dangerous then you stop.”

Xenia’s expression softened and she nodded her head. “When I worried Val used to tell me to think not of what is to come nor of that which you have no control over but rather of the now and that which you are able to change. Live in the present, remember the past, and fear not the future, for it doesn't exist and never shall. There is only now. The future will be what it will, and fretting about it too much will only make your fears more likely to come true.”

“Did it help?”

“Not in the slightest... but he did try to support me when my mind created monsters,” she smirked.

Lyrei giggled, shaking her head. “Just promise me you’ll be safe? That alone will be enough to calm my mind some.”

“I'll do my duty to the best of my abilities, fight in your name when needed, revel when the crown is finally on your head and the throne beneath you, and I will be safe. I promise you I will be... but I will not let anything or anyone use us against our will. Not again. Not ever.” She smiled. “I may dislike our choices at the moment, but I will stand by them because, even in the worst circumstances, I believe that kneeling to her was the best option available at the time.”

“It's impossible to go through life unscathed, I know. Nor should I want to... that I also know, for the record. By the hurts we accumulate, we measure both our follies and our accomplishments... but why does everything have to be so hard?,” Lyrei lamented aloud. Casting back her head, the rightful queen gazed up at the twinkling sky, her elegant neck gold with the flickering firelight from the torches that lit the docks, her face freckled and pale with the radiance of the heavens.

“Because,” said Xenia, “everyone wants to eat, but no one wants to be eaten.”

Lyrei sighed and nodded her head, but she was clearly more frightened for Xenia’s wellbeing than her own or by the prospect of one day being queen. She’d never been taught not to fear, like most people’s parents taught them whilst they were very young. Fear was good in small amounts — especially for monarchs who would wield even a fraction of the power that Lyrei would soon inherit — but when it was a constant, pounding companion, it could cut away at who a person was and could make it hard to do what they knew was right.

Without a word Xenia wrapped her arms around her and pulled her onto her lap, guiding her face into the crook of her neck and cradling her as close to her as was physically possible. She didn’t think she’d ever meet a noble who wasn’t corrupt — let alone the most noble of all nobles — and now that she had, all she wanted was to protect her. She’d do anything, be anything, all to ensure Lyrei’s safety. Whatever she did, wherever she went, she would protect her. Without her, life was more miserable than anyone could possibly imagine.

“It’s been a long time since anyone has cared for my safety the way you do,” Xenia confessed. “Why do you?" 

She knew Lyrei understood her meaning: Why her? Why trust her when so few did? Why care so little for the opinions of those who’d known her for spans. She had guessed at the answer, but she wanted to hear her say it.

Lyrei stared at her for the longest while, and then, in a low, raspy voice, she said, "You know why.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“I may be your queen... but you are mine.”

Xenia held her tighter, nuzzling her face into her hair and breathing in the familiar scent of her tresses mixed with the salty sea breeze. They were about to change history, together. They were already mid air after throwing themselves off a cliff without knowing how deep the water below was... but what a glorious flight it was.

Holding each other they enveloped each other completely, holding each other with an intimacy no other embrace could ever replicate. Their greatest comfort was, perhaps, the most simple one: that they were no longer alone. To know that they were with the one who cared, and who understood every fibre of their being more than any other did, and who would not vanish even in the most desperate of circumstances, that was the most precious relationship either of them could have, and they both cherished it more than anything else.

“Soon you will be able to have whatever you desire by uttering only a few words,” Xenia said, affectionately stroking her hair as she spoke. “When you can have anything you want with a single word, the goal matters not, only the journey to it. Plenty of people are willing to die for what they believe. However, the real courage is in living and suffering and fighting tooth-and-nail for what you believe... and you are being most courageous.”

“You’re the one doing all the leg work. I would argue that you’re the bravest of us both.”

“No,” Xenia corrected her. “I am merely doing my duty to my queen. There’s no bravery in keeping an oath of fealty—“

“Yes, there is. You’re the only one fighting by my side. We may have friends at our backs, but only you are here beside me. You are very brave, Xenia... you’re the bravest woman I’ve ever met.”

She lowered her head until it was at her level. She stroked the line of her jaw, and then pressed her forehead against hers and held her as tightly as she possibly could, her skin like velvet against her fingertips that caught her hot tears as they began to slide down her cheeks.

“Why do you cry?,” she asked.

“Because... I'm lucky enough to have met you. It's overwhelming. I feel as if I am living in an illusion a hazy fever dream where all things are possible. Amazing things do happen, I know, but always to someone else always in some far off place and time... I didn’t think anything good would ever happen to me. I’m thankful every day that you found me.”

“My sweet girl,” Xenia breathed, her voice wavering. It was overwhelming how much she had come to care for her in such a short time... even falling for Valerian had not happened quite as suddenly as she’d fallen for Lyrei. And it absolutely broke her heart to have witnessed just how much of a struggle her time in Altadellys had been. She was the kindest woman she had ever known and she had almost been murdered, defamed, and was often on the receiving end of taunting and slander from feebleminded nobles who would one day kiss the ground she walked on. Some troubles no one should have to endure, Xenia thought, especially not those as beloved as Lyrei.

Her eyes flickered closed as she held her, their foreheads still resting together gently as the waves lapped at the shoreline. She knew that once Tansy had been knocked from the throne all of the world’s wrongs would soon be righted. When Lyrei was queen it would be a better world for all, a prosperous world. A place where all would be held responsible for their actions, where people could be kind to one another because they wanted to be and becauseit was the right thing to do instead of being frightened into behaving by the threat of divine punishment. For the first time in a long time, hope bloomed within her heart, and not just for herself... but for all of Lysende under Queen Lyrei’s sceptre.

“We both must find peace in where and what we are,” Xenia whispered. “People often know what must be done. As queen, all you need to do is show them the way — and when you ascend the throne, I will be right there beside you.”

Lyrei smiled and nodded. “Do you remember the one thing I asked of you when you first brought me to Altadellys?”

“That I would help you find your family.”

“You don’t have to do that anymore. I respect the past but... I am not who I was, now I know who I am.” She caressed Xenia’s cheek. “With you, I’m already home.”

\- fin.


End file.
